


love thy neighbor

by haleofStilesheart



Series: Tumblr Prompts [18]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Awkward Derek, College Student Stiles, Fluff, M/M, Nerd Derek, Professor Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-08-12 17:29:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7943035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haleofStilesheart/pseuds/haleofStilesheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Someone taught me that the flowers are actually fairies and the petals are their hair. I think your dog killed a small village in my garden this morning.”<br/>Derek didn’t know what to say. Or what to do.<br/>His unfairly gorgeous neighbor, Stiles―the one who always forgot to close the blinds in his bedroom when he got dressed and sang off-key in the shower loud enough that Derek could hear him in his own bathroom every morning―was standing on his front porch looking utterly exasperated with a dark smudge of dirt high on his cheek and a mangled pale pink rose in his hand, roots and all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	love thy neighbor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xamberry](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=xamberry).



> For the prompt: “Someone taught me that the flowers are actually fairies and the petals are their hair. I think your dog killed a small village in my garden this morning.”

“Someone taught me that the flowers are actually fairies and the petals are their hair. I think your dog killed a small village in my garden this morning.”

Derek didn’t know what to say. Or what to do.

His unfairly gorgeous neighbor, Stiles―the one who always forgot to close the blinds in his bedroom when he got dressed and sang off-key in the shower loud enough that Derek could hear him in his own bathroom every morning―was standing on his front porch looking utterly exasperated with a dark smudge of dirt high on his cheek and a mangled pale pink rose in his hand, roots and all. 

He was absolutely breathtaking in a dirty white t-shirt, stained with what looked to be grease, and faded blue jeans, dirt caked on the knees. Altogether he looked like he’d just strolled out of a photo shoot to pound on Derek’s door and angrily inform him of the mess his dog had made of his garden.

Meanwhile Derek was standing there completely aghast in a threadbare tank top and baggy sweatpants at two in the afternoon on a Wednesday (it was his day off, okay!) with a three day old beard on his jaw and his reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, gawking at Stiles like an idiot.

He’d been relaxing on the couch with a cup of ginseng tea, re-reading Pride and Prejudice with his dog’s head in his lap, having finished grading all his papers the night before, when he’d heard the insistent knocks on his front door. Carefully closing his book, the first edition his mother had given him last Christmas, Derek stood and hurried to answer the door, assuming it was Laura coming over for their weekly dinner, instead finding Stiles on his stoop.

He’d been too gobsmacked to do anything else but gape at Stiles as he babbled on about how he’d come home from work after class to find his beloved garden full of holes, his rose bushes almost completely uprooted, his dahlias and pansies trampled on, his tulips all chewed to hell. Derek had then become too absorbed in absentmindedly counting the moles on Stiles’ cheeks to realize he’d finished his rant and had stopped talking, snapping back to reality when Stiles expectantly raised his eyebrows at Derek, clearly waiting for a response.

“Oh!” Derek pushed his glasses higher up on his nose as his face flushed, the tips of his ears burning bright red as he stammered out, “I’m so sorry! I promise it won’t happen again!”

“Yeah, it’s just… It was kinda my mom’s garden so…,” Stiles trailed off, scratching the back of his neck and suddenly avoiding Derek’s eyes.

“Oh my god,” Derek mumbled under his breath, feeling like an even bigger jackass. Everyone in Beacon Hills―hell, everyone in Beacon County―knew about Claudia Stilinski and her untimely, unfortunate death ten years ago. “I’m so sorry! I swear I have no idea how Max keeps getting out but I’ll make sure he stops! I’m so sorry!”

At the sound of his name, Derek’s German Shepherd hopped off the couch and lazily meandered over to the front door, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor, the sound heralding his arrival. He nudged his shoulder against Derek’s thigh, wedging his head between Derek’s leg and the door jamb to poke his head outside, tail wagging when he saw a visitor.

“Well, well, well… If it isn’t the perp himself,” Stiles remarked, quirking a brow at the shepherd who simply grinned up at him with his tongue lolling out―the picture of innocence.

“Speak of the devil,” Derek muttered deadpan. His eyes widened in surprise when Stiles snorted, the corner of his pretty pink lips lifting in a wry smirk.

“Hey, you,” Stiles greeted softly, crouching down on one knee so he was eye level with Max. He cupped the dog’s cheeks, raking his fingers through his thick fur and scratching behind his left ear. “I gotta talk to you, buddy. Man to man. And I’m gonna be straight with you. If you keep up this kind of bad behavior it’s gonna make it very awkward for me to ask your owner here out.”

“Wait, what?!” Derek squeaked as Stiles’ words registered, feeling his face flush even deeper. There was no way Stiles meant what Derek thought he meant. No way.

“Yeah,” Stiles continued nonchalantly, sparing only a momentary glance up at Derek before looking back at Max, nodding seriously. “I’ve sorta had this huge crush on him ever since he moved in next door. Do you think he’d wanna go out for dinner some time?”

“I-I…  _ Really?! _ ” Derek stuttered out incredulously, wondering why on earth Stiles would want to go out with him.

“Mmm-hmm. Really,” Stiles confirmed, nodding at Max again. “I kinda have a thing for the whole hot history professor look. Like his reading glasses and his tweed jackets with the elbow patches and those adorable dimples he always tries to hide.”

Derek automatically lifted a hand to his cheek, running his finger over the spot where his dimple would be if he were smiling, the skin warm against his palm, blushing yet again at Stiles’ sincere compliment. He watched as Stiles rose to his feet, turning to Derek with a small, hopeful smile. “So?”

“You-You really wanna go out with me?” Derek asked, insecurity rearing its ugly head. Stiles simply nodded, waiting for Derek’s answer. “But I-I…”

Stiles smiled patiently, gesturing for Derek to go on when he was ready.

“I watch you get dressed!” Derek blurted out guiltily, clapping his hand over his mouth the second the words left his lips. He tensed, anticipating Stiles’ rightfully angry response but Stiles only looked contrite and a little embarrassed himself, chewing his lip as his cheeks grew red. Derek furrowed his brow, probing, “What?”

“I might’ve left my blinds open on purpose,” Stiles admitted reluctantly, running a hand through his hair. 

He let out a sigh of relief when Derek breathed out a laugh and exclaimed, “I knew it!”

“So enough about my weird seduction tactics, how about that date?” Stiles inquired with a soft, shy smile.

“Yeah,” Derek agreed, smiling widely and unabashedly showing off his dimples. Nodding his head to the side, he suggested, “Do you, uh, wanna come in?”

“Oh, I see,” Stiles began, his voice low, already stepping over the threshold, running a hand over Derek’s chest. “You wanna see one of my little strip shows up close and personal, huh?”

Derek let his eyes wander down to drift over Stiles’ pert ass in his tight jeans as he pulled the front door shut and followed Stiles inside, shooing Max. “You’re damn right I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on [tumblr](http://hale-of-stiles-heart.tumblr.com/)


End file.
